NO. 1 WITH A BALLOT

CHARLES STANNARD; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT

It was a first for Essex and the state Tuesday when the town received the first-ever Democracy Challenge Cup for having the highest voter turnout of any municipality in Connecticut in the November election.

The ceremony at which Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz awarded the sterling silver prize to a gathering of town officials and poll workers also marked the debut of a "perpetual trophy" that will go each year to the town or city with the highest voter participation. The trophy is sponsored by the East Haddam Civic Association.

Essex was actually a double winner, with the 96.04 percent turnout of the town's 4,438 registered voters representing the highest participation of the state's 169 cities and towns and the highest percentage for municipalities with populations of less than 15,000. The other winners were Westport, with an 87.54 percent turnout that was the highest for mid-sized towns, with populations of 15,000 to 35,000; and West Hartford, with an 83.95 percent turnout that was highest for the larger cities and towns.

Scott Mackinnon, president of the East Haddam Civic Association, said the group that formally organized last year was looking for a way to increase participation in elections and other town affairs. "We decided to go statewide with a friendly competition between various communities in Connecticut," he said.

Mackinnon said the association paid $1,100 for each of the handsome trophies that are made by the same company that produces the Oscars. "Our town came in 45th, but it was a close 45th," Mackinnon said.

First Selectman Peter Webster said a number of factors combined with the close presidential election to generate the highest voter turnout ever for Essex, including a hotly contested referendum on establishing a four-year term for first selectman and other town offices. "It certainly helps to have a very juicy referendum issue," Webster said.

Another contributor to the high turnout was the fact that both candidates for the open 36th House District seat, Democrat James Spallone and Republican Linda Douglas, are Essex residents. Spallone won the legislative contest, while voters rejected the proposed change to a four-year term for first selectman.

Essex recorded an 87.7 percent voter turnout in the 1996 presidential election, and an 87 percent turnout in 1992.

Bysiewicz used her remarks to call for increasing voter participation in the municipal elections that are held this year. While a statewide turnout of 78 percent in the last election disappointed some officials, the statewide turnout was a dismal 40 percent in the last municipal elections in 1999.

Mackinnon said including the municipal elections in the annual Democracy Challenge Cup competition highlights the association's goal of boosting voter participation for every election in each city or town. "Every election these awards are up for grabs," he said.

Essex had little competition for the trophy. The second-highest voter turnout in the state was recorded in the western Connecticut town of Washington, where 89.45 percent of the local electorate cast ballots. In third place was the small Windham County town of Hampton, with an 88.71 percent turnout.

Middlesex County towns in the top 50 for voter turnout included Haddam, which came in 30th with an 84.52 percent turnout; Westbrook, 41st, with an 83.58 percent turnout; and East Haddam, 45th, with a voter turnout of 83.28 percent.